'Zoella'- media language

Year 1 Online Pack (pages 181-184):

Media language-

• Web 2.0= a new phase in the internet's development, characterised by interactivity, user participation, connection and collaboration 
• The growth of the new era is evident in youtubers like Zoella
• Not only is she successful online but has also reached traditional media 

Conventions of the Blog as a media form-

• Hyperlink= a word, phrase or image in an electronic document or web page that the reader can click on to navigate to a different part of a document or a different page
• Blogger= someone who engages in blogging, which is the practice of updating or adding material to a blog
• Blogs tend to be more interactive than traditional media through hyperlinks etc
• Most blogs allow readers to add their own comments expanding that level of interactive further 

Types of Blog-

• Can be political, personal, instructional or journalsitic
• Created by amateurs or professionals  
• One of the most popular types is a fashion, lifestyle blog which is what Zoella uses

Types of Vlog-

• Personal vlogs- vlogger shares their thoughts and experiences, face to face illusion is often referred to as para-social interaction
• Fashion and beauty vlogs- tutorial videos, hauls or reviews 
• Entertainment vlogs- comedy, sketches, pranks as well as competitions
• Gaming vlogs- walkthroughs or 'let's play' videos 

Analysing Blogs and Vlogs using Semiotic Theory-

• Homepages of blogs will often use a similar design so it is important to look at the differences between them and what this conveys to the audience about that creator 
• The customised banners on youtube are one of the main places youtubers can use semiotics to convey their brand identity to their audience
• Often they will have a symbolic sign or logo here
• The images, colours and typography will all substitute into the overall brand identity 
• The setting of a youtuber's video can also have semiotic meaning 
• Non-verbal communication is also important looking at their facial expressions, posture, dress codes etc 

Year 2 Online Media Pack (pages 215-219):

Multimodality and Hypermodality-

• Multimodality= defined by Theo van Leeuwen as 'the combination of different semiotic modes e.g. media language and music'
• Hypermodality= a term used to describe the way in which the linkages in online media products such as webpages 'go beyond the default conventions of traditional multimodal genres' (Lemke) 
• Websites are multimodal as they use a combination of modes and convey their meanings
• Websites are also different to other forms of media through their use of hyperlinks
• Lemke points out that there are more connections here than in print forms 

Layout and Design- 

• Above the fold= the portion of a webpage that is immediately visible to the user without the need for scrolling
• Below the fold= content that can be viewed when the website is scrolled down
• Layouts are often distinguished by above the fold and below the fold
• Where the fold is can depend on size, shape, resolution, and the device the reader is using
• Some designers talk about a secondary fold for when the website is used in a portrait format 
• As a general rule, the most important parts should be above the fold 

Websites Codes and Conventions: The Homepage-

• A logo- important part of the visual branding 
• Main navigation- usually takes the form of a menu bar 
• A carousel/slider- enables multiple pieces of content to be presented sequentially in the form of a slideshow 
• A footer- information at the bottom of the homepage, usually contact details/ 'about us' section
• A search box- enables the reader to look for particular topics 
• Social media icons- can be Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages as well as the relevant Youtube channel
• Banner ads- advertisements that are embedded in the webpage and link directly to the advertiser's website 

Applying and Evaluating Semiotic Theory-

• When analysing the layout and design of a webpage, semiotics can help you understand how paradigmatic choices regarding images, typography, colour scheme and lexis convey particular meanings 
• Semiotics can also be used to explore the way in which these paradigmatic elements work together syntagmatically to establish a sense of brand identity 
• Weakness- when applying to websites there is a tendency to focus on the static elements of the text while ignoring the dynamic and interactive elements that distinguish online products from other media forms 
• Weakness- tends to ignore the social constructs in which the communication takes place, treating texts in isolation from those who produce and engage with them 
• Social semiotics- a critical approach that addresses the perceived limitations of mainstream semiotics by acknowledging and exploring the social contexts in which meaning making takes place 
• Social semiotics can be used to address these weaknesses as they draw on work if semiotic theorists such as Roland Barthes while exploring the significance of the social contexts in which media production and communication take place

Applying Levi Strauss' Theory of Structuralism- 

• Consider the extent to which the products rely on binary opposites 
• Could be competing sets of ideas or values or between different individuals, groups of cultures
• Play an important part in the construction of cultural or subcultural identity as they set up borders and boundaries between different social groups
• Levi Strauss' notion of myth- 'provide a logical model capable of overcoming a contradiction' could be used to look at how Zoella manages to address a mass audience while maintaining the illusion of personal, face to face communication
• Could also be used to explore how the binary opposition between the public and personal domain is negotiated in these blogs and vlogs

 The Way Media Language Incorporates Viewpoints and Ideologies- 

• Firstly through the use of binary opposites
• Discourses that are used in online products can also be seen to express viewpoints and ideologies
• E.g. discourses of self-improvement that conventionally circulate within fashion, beauty and lifestyle blogs generally promote a particular set of ideas about gender and identity 
• Similarly, the discourses of consumerism that circulate in certain types of blog, vlog and online magazines have a significant ideological function as they promote a particular set of ideas, values and beliefs 

Applying Baudrillard's Postmodern Theory-

• Key aspect is that the boundaries between the real world and the world of the media have collapsed so that there is no longer the boundary between reality and simulation 
• The rise of online media could be seen as symptomatic cultural shift as the lines separating real everyday life from the world of the media have become increasingly blurred
• It could now be reasonably argued that the real everyday world is the world of the media
• Baudrillard therefore argues that instead of referring to everything as real we simply get signs referring to other signs 
• The web shows this as we are constantly presented with a seemingly endless network links and connections going to other websites and pages 

Online Media and the Loss of Meaning-

• Many of the criticisms that Baudrillard makes of postmodern culture have also been levelled against online media and vlogs and blogs more specifically 
• In an essay, Baudrillard talks about the 'obscenity' of over-representation, arguing that 'that which was kept secret [is now] represented beyond all necessarily [...] even if it is the representation of nothing at all' 
• The idea could be considered in relation to online media:
• How might vlogs, blogs and social media be seen to represent 'that which was [once] kept secret' in relation to the blur in the boundaries between what is private and what is public? 
• Can we see these new media forms as what Baudrillard describes as 'the representation of nothing at all' in relation to if they simply represent the trivial and the mundane for instance?
• Baudrillard claims that 'we live in a world where there is more and more information, and less and less meaning'- this can also be applied here

The Medium is the Message-

• Phatic Internet Technologies= according to Wang, Tucker and Haines (2012), these are 'special forms of communications technologies devoted to personal and social needs and goals'
• Facebook, Twitter and Youtube are examples of this as their main aim is to 'establish, develop and maintain personal and social relationships' 
• Therefore, in phatic communication, 'it does not matter that the message sent and received may be meaningless or even empty' because it is the act of communication that is important rather than the content 
• For example, when we say 'hello' to start a conversation not to greet someone
• Wang et al therefore suggests that what is said on social media platforms is often not as important as the act of communicating itself 
• Marshall McLuhan's famous phrase 'the medium is the message' could be seen to make a similar point 

Hyperreality and Digital Media-

• Baudrillard's notion of the hyperreal can also be applied to digital media 
• E.g. when attending concerts people record and simultaneously watch the the performance on their smartphones almost as if this image is more real than the artist in front of them
• Discussing the way in which technology, shapes and determines our interactions with the world around us, Neil Postman wrote 'To a man with a pencil, everything looks like a list. To a man with a camera, everything looks like an image...'
• In the Web 2.0 era we might ask whether everything to someone with a camera and an internet connection looks like a vlog

Worksheets Pack (15-17):

Extract Analysis Tool- Vlogs -

• Single camera edit- a production filmed with just one camera usually very quickly
• Best friend characterisation- a presenting style that gives the audience access to details of the presenter's life 
• Unscripted narrative- improvised moments in narrator dialogue 
• Aspirational narratives- stories that inspire audiences to want a particular lifestyle or to change their behaviour in some way
• All of these apply to Zoella

Extract Analysis Tool- 'Anxiety- The Update' -

• Amateur aesthetic- a deliberately non-professional filming style
• E.g. '(is that the saying?)' 
• Emotive language- using verbs and descriptors that have strong connotations
• E.g. 'missing out', 'didn't seem to care'
• Vernacular language- the use of everyday language that mimics spoken discussion
• E.g. '(is that the saying?)'
• Narrative authenticity- story authentic on the topic matter and structures that deal with real life
• E.g. 'A LOT'
• Confessional narrative- giving the audience access to inner thoughts 
• E.g. 'and it bothered me'
• Content constantly updated- content is constantly refreshed and ordered by date 
• E.g. '11th October 2016'

Worksheets Pack- Baudrillard (page 22):

How can the ideas of Baudrillard be used in an exam response? 

• Media is so saturated it is impossible for audiences to experience the natural or real world 
• The media constructs an imaginary space that celebrates stardom and celebrities 
• Baudrillard calls this a 'simulacrum' world
• Hyperreality in which constructed imagery replaces realism
• The abundance of images the media subjects us to are deliberately manicured to produce an escape from reality

To what extent do online media products contribute towards Baudrillard's notion of hyperreality?

• Online media can be seen to escalate the celebrity culture 
• The internet is a simulacrum and the ultimate distraction from the real world 
• A great deal of online media content also reinforces the cult of celebrity 
• Vlogs are seen as authentic however are constructed in a manner that punctures the notion of the simulacrum 
• Blogs are positioned as the authentic voice of their audiences; their everyday personas are arguably constructed as antidotes to contemporary celebrity culture 

Really? Zoella and Alfie are two of the biggest stars of youth culture today?

• Their wealth elevates them to celebrity status despite their insistence to the contrary and their self-deprecating presentation style 
• Their huge fan bases have also made them targets to the wide stream media that is eager to cash in on the youth audience appeal
• They are regularly invited mainstream events in an attempt to harness their audience connectivity 
• Vlogs are used by the beauty industry as covert advertising through product placement 
• Zoella has written books (well at least ghostwritten them) and presented shows on BBC

So Zoella and Alfie aren't real according to Baudrillard?

• They are, but the media they produce isn't a realistic representation of real life
• They contribute towards the construction of an imagined vlogging community which sounds a lot like Baudrillard's simulacrum 
• Their content is concerned in part at least with transformative narrative intent that seeks to remove us from the meanderings of the real world around us